


the impossible happens all the time (we just have to believe in it)

by Alison_Parker



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Lost in Space (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Angst, Azula is the perfect Dr Smith tell me otherwise, Big Brother Sokka (Avatar), Denial of Feelings, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Found Family, Gen, M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Multiple, Slow Burn, Smart Sokka (Avatar), There is only one brain cell and Sokka has it 24/7, Toph and Zuko don't know the rest of the gaang until they get on the Jupiter to escape, lOTS OF ANGST AT SOME POINTS, lots of drama but not between the characters, the Lost In Space Zukka AU no one asked for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:54:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28331208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alison_Parker/pseuds/Alison_Parker
Summary: When Sokka started his PhD, all of his work was theoretical. Living on another planet other than Earth was a thought for the future, surely not for his lifetime. The last thing he expected was to be stuck on a ship, hurtling through space with his sister, her boyfriend and two strangers. If that wasn't bad enough, his sister's boyfriend found a pet killer robot and made friends with it.Or: Sokka is an aerospace engineer stuck on a dying planet with a crew that has no idea what they're doing. And if that wasn't bad enough, the biologist traveling with him is frustratingly cute and Sokka can't stop staring when he should be figuring out how to save them.In Lost in Space fashion, POV's will switch to tell everyones' story, but each time will be labeled so you're not confused!
Relationships: Aang & Sokka (Avatar), Aang/Katara (Avatar), Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Sokka
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	the impossible happens all the time (we just have to believe in it)

**Author's Note:**

> *slaps this fic on the hood* this is so self-indulgent  
> no crossover, so knowledge of Lost In Space needed. The only thing required is a love for found family.  
> ~ I'm posting this somewhat unfinished chapter to gauge a response; I just want to see how many other people out there like this idea! So please! Give kudos and comment if you like it, I'm really wanting to continue this fic and not leave it as a WIP :/ but i'm a bisexual who needs validation from others to stay motivated

Zuko never liked card games. They were long and arduous. There were a million different games which all had a million different rules and there was no reason to learn them all. But when you’re floating through space trying to keep your sanity, anything was a needed distraction. 

Toph stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth as she fanned her cards in front of her face. “Aang, do you have any twos?”

Aang gave a quick glance at his cards. “Go fish.”

As Toph reached forward to pat the table, looking for the pool of cards, she flashed her whole stack to everyone sitting around the table. 

Katara sighed. “Toph,  _ you _ don’t even have any twos.”

“Well! You don’t have very visually-impaired friendly games around here and I  _ wanted to participate _ .”

“I offered to help–” Sokka nudged the stack just within reach of her short arms with one finger.

“I didn’t want your help, Sokka. That’s cheating.” Toph, who had finally found the deck, knocked it back into the middle, just out of her reach. “Oops.” 

“This is stupid,” Zuko growled. He laid his cards flat on the table, which was a bad idea. The cards slowly began drifting upward, gravity nonexistent where they were. He snatched them out of the air again and scrubbed his hands through his hair. Zuko didn’t know how much longer he could take this. This nothingness. The idea that just outside the metal walls of the Jupiter was just...empty. It was making him go crazy. He didn’t even know how long they’d been sitting in the Hub since they left the  _ Resolute.  _ Hours, maybe, since the five of them had hastily harnessed themselves into the seats around the table as the  _ Resolute _ shook around them.

“You just think it’s stupid because you have half of the deck in your hands right now,” Katara laughed. She, on the other hand, had 3 pairs already tucked into her seat belt. 

“I think it’s stupid because we’re playing a card game when we should be trying to figure out how to get  _ back _ to the  _ Resolute _ .” 

“I already said, we have to wait until we land in the first place. We can’t do anything while we’re shooting towards the atmosphere of the nearest planet.” Sokka said sharply. “It’s not as simple as you want it to be.” As much as it pissed Zuko off, from what he had sussed out, Sokka probably knew what he was talking about, moreso than any of the others. 

Zuko watched as Aang shuddered next to him. Zuko could sympathize with the idea of being on a strange planet instead of the colony. They were prepared for Alpha Centauri, perhaps even marginally over-prepared for the trip. But a planet that was completely uncharted? That was not on the flight plan. 

“The  _ Resolute _ made 20 routine trips. What happened to ours?” Katara asked softly. Zuko’s questioning apparently made everyone want to start questioning. 

“23,” Sokka corrected and Zuko rolled his eyes. This was not the time to get technical. “Don’t speculate. It’s not going to get us anywhere.” He grabbed the floating stack of cards, pulled one out and leaned over to shove it into Toph’s fan. 

“Who’s next?” Aang asked, changing the subject. 

Sokka opened his mouth but was interrupted by a woman’s automated voice. “Completing deorbit burn. Atmospheric entry in 30 seconds.”

Sokka nodded. “Helmets on everyone.” 

Each of them grabbed their helmets and fitted them into their suits, locking them into place. Zuko had never been a fan of this part. No matter how many times he put it on he would never get used to the suffocating, fish-bowl feeling. 

“Okay, I think it’s my turn.” Sokka said. “Katara, do you have any nines?” 

She groaned. “What, are you counting cards during  _ go fish?” _ she asked as she flicked the card in his direction, just out of reach. 

“I don’t know why everyone doesn’t,” he chuckled. He reached out for the card just as the Jupiter shook around them. 

Yellow lights blinked around the Hub, replacing the normal clinically white ones. “Atmospheric disturbance detected.” 

Zuko sucked in a deep breath through his nose. Next to him Toph was white knuckling the table. 

“Deep breaths,” Katara said through gritted teeth. Zuko couldn’t tell if she was talking to the whole group or just herself. “We trained for this.”

“Not for  _ this _ .” Toph muttered. 

“The computer is going to land us just fine. That’s what it’s there for,” Sokka said calmly. 

Whatever Sokka said didn’t sit right with the universe, because just then they were hit by something. All of them were thrown around in their seats like a bad, bumpy roller coaster as the Juptier veered to the side. Katara yelped and reached for the hand that Aang was already holding out for her. Alarms blared through the ship so loudly that it made Zuko cringe. 

“Impact detected.” The automated voice said. 

“Yeah, no shit!” Toph shouted. 

Zuko looked up through the circle of windows at the top of the Hub. Fiery pieces of what looked like the  _ Resolute _ hurted past them. Zuko was so mesmerized by the sight of parts of their space station flying past them towards the planet, that he almost missed the next alert from the ship. 

“Landing trajectory off course,” the automated voice warned. “ _ 8,000 feet. _ ”

“What the fuck, Sokka? You said it could fly itself!” Zuko screamed. 

“It can!!” He screamed back. “It will correct itself! I helped design the Hub; we’re in the safest–” 

“Oh Jesus, Sokka, shut the fuck up and take my hand!” Katara reached out for her brother. Aang did the same to Zuko and he grabbed it without another thought. If they were going to hit the ground going a million miles an hour, he might as well have some type of human comfort when he died. Sokka and Zuko both grabbed Toph’s hands and Zuko squeezed his eyes shut. 

“ _ 2,000 feet. Brace for impact, brace for impact _ ,” the voice told them and Zuko found himself mouthing the words along with her. 

Then, Aang and Toph’s hands were ripped from his as they hit the face of the planet. 

Every single door and cabinet in the Hub burst open, dishes and supplies, and metal boxes flew everywhere. Sparks dropped from the ceiling as wires were ripped apart from the force. The lights went out completely and the red emergency lights flickered to life. Even more alarms began to sound from the ship. 

From the darkness came one voice. “Sound off, everyone!” Toph asked.

Somehow, Zuko wasn’t surprised that the blind girl was the first one to start protocols. She wasn’t affected by the sudden darkness everyone else was thrown into. His chest felt tight from being pushed and pulled by the seat belt, but he managed to choke out. “Zuko. Here.”

“Katara accounted for.”

“Aang accounted for.”

They all waited for bated breath for the last voice to answer them. Instead they heard a pain-filled groan. 

“Sokka?” Katara’s voice was urgent. “Are you alright?”

“I’m here.” Zuko could just make out his face across from him in the red glow. It was crinkled up in a grimace. 

The ship suddenly teetered to the right. Zuko didn’t need the ship’s computer to tell him they landed somewhere unstable. 

“We need to start getting supplies,” Aang said, his gloved fingers flying over his harness. “We need to evacuate. Zuko–” 

“I’m already on it.” His own fingers, though shaky unbuckled his harness. He slid out of the seat on surprisingly steady legs. “Supply cabinet Toph.” 

“Right behind you.” She was already out of her seat and next to him. It was very apparent when they made their way around the table, there was one person not getting up.

“Sokka?” Zuko grabbed the other man’s shoulder. He twisted around in his seat and pointed to the large metal box next to him. “I can’t, my leg is stuck.” 

Aang and Zuko shared a momentary look before the two of them grabbed the handles of the box. Zuko didn’t know what kind of equipment was in it, but whatever it was took the full strength of both men to pull it far enough away that Sokka could shimmy out. Zuko, Toph and Katara grabbed whatever they could on the way to the hatch. 

Aang threw Sokka’s arm over his shoulders and the five of them raced into the hallway. The ship suddenly careened to the left which sent all of them stumbling into the wall. 

Katara pushed herself upright and dropped what bags she had at her feet. “I still have to go to the infirmary.”

Zuko righted himself and stopped where he stood. He had a bad feeling if they stopped to get supplies they would end up dead. He grabbed Katara’s arm before she went any further. “We don’t have time anymore, we need to get out now.” He pointed up. “Top hatch.” 

Zuko climbed the ladder and threw his weight against the lock, finally it popped and he slid the hatch sideways. But as with this whole trip, something had to go wrong. 

“I can only get it halfway. I think the only one who can fit is Toph,” he called down.

“Great, send the  _ blind one _ into the unknown,  _ alone. _ ” 

“No, it’s okay.” Katara said. “We’ll just have to go around.” 

\----

Each time the ship moved, all of them held their breath, waiting for the freefalling to happen; but it never came. 

After the most recent shake, Toph hiked the bag on her shoulder. “When you opened the hatch, what was out there.”

Zuko furrowed his brow. “Snow.” He could hear her groan beside him. It left a lot of possibilities as to where they were in Zuko’s mind. Were they at the top of a mountain or edge of a cliff, tipping one way or another with the wind? Or were they safe in a valley where the powdery snow was throwing the ship’s calibration off? 

\----

More or less, Zuko’s questions were answered when Katara hit the exit button and the doors slid open with a creak. The ground was slushier than he would have liked. Ice then, he surmised. 

They dropped their bags on a ledge on what seemed to be more solid ground than the Jupiter was sitting on. Aang and Sokka hobbled behind and Sokka slid into a seat on the ground. Even through his helmet Zuko could see a sheen of sweat on his brow. He panted out each breath so forcefully that the glass of his helmet fogged. 

\----

They were standing in a crevasse created by the sliding of the Jupiter as it crash landed. All around them were mountains, covered with snow. Though the ground seemed stable where they were now, the Jupiter hadn’t been so lucky. It was half way covered in rocks and where it had landed, it had pierced the ice of some underground lake. Deep cracking filled the air as more and more ice gave way under the amazing load of the ship. Zuko watched in abject horror as the rocks began shifting around the ship, and it slowly began to take on water through the still open door. Red exterior lights began blinking as it was slowly swallowed up by the water. 

“Tell what I think I heard did not just fucking happen,” Toph sighed.

Zuko couldn’t help but throw his head back and stare at the sky. “Fuck!”

“Shut up!” Katara growled and smacked Zuko in the shoulder. 

Zuko scowled and shook her off. He stomped over to where they had dumped their supplies, itching to kick them or the rocks around them to get his frustrations out. Their Jupiter, the literal only thing to get them  _ off _ this planet, just  _ sunk  _ and she wanted him to calm down? 

“If you keep yelling like that and we’ll be buried in an avalanche.” Katara pointed up to the mountains around them. 

“Katara, you need to come look at this leg,” Aang announced. He was kneeling next to Sokka with his hand clasped on the other man’s shoulder. Each breath Sokka pulled in was shaky. Katara was the doctor but Zuko thought Sokka’s leg looked… a bit crooked. 

Katara laid a gentle hand on his foot and under his knee, but even at just that, Sokka recoiled in pain. 

“I’d like a better look at it but it’s almost definitely broken.” 

Toph grabbed one of the bags and began digging through it. “I’ll look for the oximeter, we need to know if you can get his boot off.”

“No need.” Sokka, who had laid back completely in the snow, unlatched his helmet against all protests of those around him and threw it to the side. 

“We need to test the atmosphere!” Katara protested. 

“No we don’t.” He pointed to Aang’s pants, which sure enough had a small rip in the knee. “If the air was toxic, he’d be dead already.” 

Aang frowned and picked at the tear. “Gee, thanks for letting me know.”

Slowly, each of them unlatched their own helmets and took their first breath of fresh air in months. 

It was easily the cleanest air Zuko had ever tasted. Even though the cold nipped at his nose and the tips of his ears, it was heavenly. There was a brief moment, when all of them just stopped doing anything and enjoyed the moment. The relief at being on a planet so rich in oxygen was a consolation prize for losing their Jupiter. At least they wouldn’t run out of air too. 

“Look,” Aang nodded at the sky. Zuko looked up through his lashes to see not one, but two Jupiters flying overhead. And they just kept coming. 

“I counted eight. Did you see any more?” Toph asked. 

“No, that was it. At least we know we’re not alone here.” Zuko said. 

“Aang, you wanna try and radio them?” Sokka asked from his position on the ground. The cool air seemed to perk him up a bit. 

“On it.”


End file.
